Earlier this week, hundreds of people queued around the block to get their hands on Liberty's annual beauty advent calendar, which is a guaranteed sell-out every year.

And while you might raise an eyebrow at the idea of standing in the rain for hours for the sake of a few new bits for your beauty bag, it was certainly worth their while for those who made the effort

Retailing at £175 the calendar includes 15 full size products as well as 10 samples with the combined contents worth £500 and it's not the only advent calendar on the market to represent a bargain for beauty lovers.

In the hope of tempting new customers who will then go on to buy more products, beauty companies are stocking their advent calendars with goodies worth up to X times the purchase price.

The No7 Ultimate Beauty Calendar had a waiting list of almost 100,000 people when it went on sale earlier this week and it's no wonder, given the £40 box contains 25 products worth £169.

Shoppers queued around the block to purchase Liberty's advent calendar this week, which contains £500 worth of products for just £175

No7's Ultimate Beauty Calendar contains £169 worth of products for just £40 and has a waiting list of almost 100,000 before it launched this week

Around 300 people queued around the block outside the Liberty department store in London this week to get their hands on its sought after advent calendar

Such is the popularity of beauty advent calendars, some of the most popular varieties are on sale on eBay for hugely inflated prices.

Dozens of No7 Ultimate Beauty Calendars are currently being offered despite the festive offering still being available in store.